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“QUIT ACTING DIPPY”: Vegan Sweet Ranch Dip with Fresh Herbs

I’d like to dedicate this post to my Gram. When I was little all the cousins would get together for holidays and run amok in her house she would yell from various adjoining rooms “Quit acting dippy!”, a nice grandmotherly way of saying “Stop hitting each other and breaking all of my things!”

Today’s recipe comes from a book I’ve meant to read for a long time, and finally started last week. Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman is SO nutritionally insightful. It is a weight loss “program” (though everything can be applied to a lifestyle – and should be, it’s good stuff) that just happens to be plant-based. (There are recipes in the back for a modified diet, which includes some animal products for those who need help with the transition.)

I love books like this because it doesn’t say HEY I’M A VEGAN BOOK – it’s just got a great reputation, is often recommended by family doctors and is factually sound without being too technical – so people are inclined to pick it up instead of bypassing it because it’s “that weird vegan thing”.

The book can be summed up as a nutritional plan that focuses on eating as many nutrients as possible, calorie for calorie.

There is SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL BOOK, I will have to do a full review in another post. Until then, know I’ve been following the plan as much as possible since starting to read it, and last night made my first recipe directly from the book.

(SWEET) RANCH DIP as per Eat To Live, pg. 259-260

6 oz (half a package) silken tofu

3 dates, pitted (I didn’t have dates so I used 2 Tbsp of fig preserves)

I really like this simple dip, which can also be used as a dressing or sandwich spread. There is NO FAT at all (no oils!), but there IS protein from the tofu, and the health benefits of raw herbs and garlic.

Give it a try, and be sure to check out the book Eat To Live if your body isn’t feeling as healthy as it should.